Re: BACKYARD ROSY FINCH

Posted by Rosyfinch on
URL: http://sandia-crest-birding-forum.18.s1.nabble.com/BACKYARD-ROSY-FINCH-tp7572630p7572635.html

Individual House Finches may vary quite a bit in the amount of color. Females do not have any red, while males seem to be brightest in the spring. My photo was taken in early May, and that one was unusually bright. Some look more on the orange side or even yellowish.

Also, look at the shape of the bill. In House Finches the top of the bill (called the culmen) curves down slightly ("parrot-like"), while the similar Cassin's Finch has a very straight culmen. It is important to notice this feature because the Cassin's Finch is very likely to show up on your feeder some winters. There are other ways to help distinguish Cassin's from House Finch. These features are nicely displayed at this Cornell Lab Web site:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/finchIDtable.html 

I should add that the Purple Finch, which is also compared to the other two on the Cornell site, rarely appears in the Albuquerque area, so be careful to note its distinguishing features as well.

Thanks so much for visiting, and I hope you get up to the Crest to see the rosy-finches this winter. They should be showing up in only 2-3 weeks!